Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

This really is a full service blog.

In my day, never was longer.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Florida Men (Friday Morning Open Thread)

Florida Men (Friday Morning Open Thread)

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Oddly enough given the state’s reputation, the two Florida pols now vying for the GOP nomination are among the most sane-seeming of an unhinged bunch. But that’s like numbering Kobe Bryant among the shortest L.A. Lakers. Bush and Rubio are both extremists, and I’ve enjoyed watching them flounder this week.

imageIt was gratifying to see Rubio get suicide-bombed by Christie during the debate and finish behind Jeb in the NH primary after he’d spent the week measuring the Oval Office drapes on the strength of a third place finish in Iowa. Then yesterday, he broke a molar on a Twix bar, which is like something that would happen to the Samuel L. Jackson character in “Unbreakable.” Maybe someone will take his campaign out behind the barn and put it out of our misery. With a Nerf gun.

But Lil’ Marco ain’t going anywhere because he’s got no place else to go. He’s said he’s not running to keep his senate seat and has made it clear he considers the job beneath him. I suppose he could run for governor when ambulatory dildo Rick Scott’s term is up. But I’m not sure how formidable a candidate he’d be since he won the senate seat with less than 50% of the vote in a three-way race and has hardly distinguished himself in that post. Maybe Fox News. He’s Fox News pretty.

imageSpeaking of dental procedures and debate humiliations, the tribulations of Jeb have been a joy to watch, and it looks like he’s waltzing toward another rake. When asked about his strategy for the GOP debate on Saturday, Jeb likened it to a root canal and said that “maybe non-preparation might be the best strategy.” He elaborated:

“It’s just, show my heart, show the depth of knowledge that I have, show good humor, stand my ground. Don’t let Trump bully me.”

Sounds like talking points straight from Mumsy Bush, who probably also told him not to bother coming home if he lets the short-fingered vulgarian from Queens take his lunch money yet again. Jeb also said he’s yearning to confront Trump about the eminent domain issue again and to scold him for kicking an old lady out of her house to build a limo parking lot.

“These issues need to come out,” Bush said. “And I’m gonna take it to him, but do it hopefully with enough civility so that people won’t get turned off.”

Sweet babby Jeebus, friends: That is must-see TV in my book. Damn right we’ll see Jeb’s heart — when Trump rips it from his chest cavity and drop-kicks it into the cheap seats.

Oh, it’s still possible that Lil’ Marco will come a’roaring back and find the strength even to bite a stack of Butterfingers in two or that Jeb and the malevolent force that works on his behalf will solve the riddle of Trump and make me regret prematurely dancing on the Bush clan’s political grave. But for now it’s fun to watch these slimy shit-weasels squirm.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

146Comments

  1. 1.

    Mustang Bobby

    But Lil’ Marco ain’t going anywhere because he’s got no place else to go. He’s said he’s not running to keep his senate seat and has made it clear he considers the job beneath him.

    He could be the best gosh-darn salesman for his sugar daddy Norman Braman at his high-end dealership on Biscayne Boulevard. “What would it take to get you into this new BMW today?”

  2. 2.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    I hope none of them drop out & that each finds a special place in the voters of some states. An open convention with lots of blood-letting would be fabulous! I really want to see fist fights in the crowd & name-calling from the podium. The ads I have seen from the clowns this year are particularly brutal & nasty, they should leave wounds that never heal. The one from the previous thread was actually pretty clever but the sort of ugly that even the supporters never forgive let alone the candidate & team. Guys like Cruz have made enemies for life and opened divisions that with any luck will fester and become a cancer on the party of cancers.

  3. 3.

    Hillary Rettig

    Yeah, despite our differences it feels really good not to be a Republican right now.

    Couple of other notes:

    1) I’m glad you’re feeling better Betty. fwiw I’m team Nyquil (sometimes you need to dose the hell out of yourself and sleep for a few days, but even more strongly team Neti pot.

    2) As others have pointed out, your artwork last night and this morning has been amazing.

    speaking of Rubio I literally can’t imagine the level of entitlement that would make you see a Senate job as beneath you.

  6. 6.

    OzarkHillbilly

    I almost feel sorry for little Marco. He’s never had an actual job and the old grift has run out of steam. What’s he gonna do after face planting this one?

  7. 7.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    @Felonious Monk:
    He probably has had all his teeth capped so they look pretty. Sadly he probably used a second rate dentists since Florida is full of incompetent medical professionals. The dentist either didn’t do a good job or used inferior products to cut cost & the end result is one that can’t stand up – a nice metaphor for Rubio.

  12. 12.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Trump and Lil’ Marco are getting push polled in SC

    ‘Did you know that Marco Rubio and the Gang of Eight are for amnesty?’” she recalled in a phone interview. “And then the gentleman said he’s for letting 11 million illegal immigrants stay in the U.S. and that he was for letting Syrians cross the borders freely.”

    Barrett said she found the call — which continued to say negative things about Rubio before taking shots at Donald Trump for being a supporter of eminent domain —

  13. 13.

    MattF

    Now they’re both going to try to be MEAN. To each other, presumably, since that bully is soooo vulgar.

  16. 16.

    Amir Khalid

    Jeb’s idea of a presidential campaign issue: that time the Donald bullied an old lady. Reprehensible and unbecoming, for sure; but very small-scale. It certainly doesn’t demonstrate that Jeb himself thinks big enough for the presidency.

    As for Rubio, aside from feeling that being a US Senator was beneath him, he must have been extremely confident that he would win the presidency. Did that “rising star of the GOP” nonsense a few years go to his head?

  18. 18.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    Signe Wilkinson has a great cartoon this morning. Christy’s bus headed back to NJ with lil Marco on the front of it. The best part is Mr. Robotio is depicted in short pants!

  20. 20.

    maya

    Jeb$ will have his bro helping out with his campaign too. Dubya has consented to only do a fly-over.

  21. 21.

    Felonious Monk

    @Betty/ I must also express my admiration for your artwork. Your artistic ability is only exceeded by your sense of humor.

    My condolences for having to suffer both Jeb and Marco so directly.

  22. 22.

    NotMax

    Drawing of Jebbie looks a little too much on first glance like one T. Roosevelt.

    Anyone mention his comment the other day that he was rooting for the Broncos because the QB has donated to his campaign? Presumably intended as humor, there’s an underlying, telling, self-revelatory truth there.

    “I know that y’all probably maybe had some leanings toward Carolina,” Bush told the crowd. “I was for Denver, not because of the Broncos, but because Peyton Manning wrote me a check.”

    Per Colin Campbell of the Raleigh News & Observer, finance records show Bush received a $2,5700 campaign contribution from Manning. Source

    And, speaking of bad taste –

    T’ain’t funny, McGee.

    Introducing Kimunji: A free emoji set dedicated to the 33-year-old dictator and various things he’s become associated with since taking the reins as supreme leader in 2011 following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il. Source

  24. 24.

    PaulW

    As a Florida man meself, I consider it a necessity to warn everybody else to FOR THE LOVE OF GOD NOT VOTE for either Rubio or Jeb.

    I’ve seen them in action. They’re disasters.

  25. 25.

    MomSense

    Oh crap, just how bad Is a root canal? I’m about to have one. I should add that opiates make me terribly sick so it’s going to be an Advil only recovery. Maybe I should take a chance on NyQuil .

  26. 26.

    bystander

    What is it with hillbilly cuisine? If it can’t be deepfried, it has to be frozen. You either challenge your arteries or your teeth. Since when did having a snack become a veiled expression of a death wish? Maybe we should ask Reince Prepuce.

    @Felonious Monk: Rumor has it IRL you’re a dentist. BAUD, DONT TAKE THE CHALLENGE!

  27. 27.

    bystander

    @MomSense: I’ve had a million of them and I always say, the most painful part is writing the check. Endodontists know what they’re doing. And, yes, only an endodontist.

  30. 30.

    Baud

    @MomSense: I’ve had them without any pain or need for medication. The pressure on your numbed teeth during the procedure can feel strange, however.

  32. 32.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    @MomSense:
    the root canal was painless, it was the pain that caused me to go get a root canal that was a special treat.

  35. 35.

    Betty

    @Hillary Rettig: Just to reiterate: too much Tylenol or Tylenol combined with alcohol can be deadly. My husband recently ended up in the hospital, a very sick man from overdosing- used Tylenol and Theaflu with some additional alcohol. Very bad for the liver.

  37. 37.

    D58826

    stand my ground. Don’t let Trump bully me.

    I would think the phrase ‘stand your ground’ is a bit problematic for many people. I would also suggest that the phrase ‘not let Trump bully me’
    really sets the wrong image for a guy who claims he can go mano-mano with Vlad and ISIS.

    On a slightly differnt topic there is an item on Twitter where a top Iranian government official is claiming the GOP approached his government and asked that the prisoner swap be delayed until after Obama was out of office. Now I usually take statements from the Iranian government with a large dose of salt but given the Tom Cotton letter this might really be true. I know there are accusations that the Nixon era GOP torpedoed the Paris peace talks in 1968 and the Reagan folks worked to get the hostage release delayed until after the election in 1980. So it could well be the GOP running true to its treasonous form.

  38. 38.

    NotMax

    @MomSense

    Undoubtedly meds and techniques have improved tremendously from the experience of 40 years ago and it is a much less stressful procedure now so you will not undergo the same.

    Then – well, imagine someone reaching in to grab and slowly yank out the nerves of your big toe. Through your mouth.

  39. 39.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Hillary Rettig:

    I literally can’t imagine the level of entitlement that would make you see a Senate job as beneath you.

    As you noted, you’re not a Republican.

  43. 43.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Federal prosecutors began presenting evidence on Wednesday to a grand jury in Brooklyn in the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died after being placed in a chokehold by a white police officer in Staten Island in July 2014, according to a person briefed on the matter.

    Two New York City police officers were the first people to be called before the federal panel, the person said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss a continuing investigation. The person added that Forrest Christian, a veteran prosecutor in the Justice Department’s civil rights division, had come to Brooklyn to take part in the proceeding.

    The empaneling of a grand jury, which The Daily News reported on Wednesday, is a significant step in the aftermath of Mr. Garner’s death and is a result of a federal civil rights investigation opened by the Justice Department in December 2014.

  44. 44.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @D58826:

    there are accusations that the Nixon era GOP torpedoed the Paris peace talks in 1968

    That’s actually turned out to be what happened.

  47. 47.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Punchy: Not really, i broke one eating a slice of pizza.

    ETA: It had an old filling, so it had probably weakened over time.

  48. 48.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Trump’s claim that the unemployment rate is at 42%

    Mr. Sanders said “real unemployment is close to 10%.”

    Current unemployment rate is 4.9%

    {sigh}

    Math – how does that work?

  54. 54.

    MattF

    @MomSense: I’ve had several– at the start of the last round, when an endodontist looked into my mouth, he said “Thank you!” My free advice is, have it done by a specialist. Many years ago, I lost a tooth when a regular dentist tried to do a root canal on a front tooth that turned out to be a bit tricky.

    ETA: And the pain’s not so bad if it’s done correctly. But it’s fair to say that my motto, when it comes to anesthetics, is “Shoot me up.”

  55. 55.

    debbie

    @D58826:

    Not rumor, not conjecture. Both Reagan and Nixon actually sabotaged their predecessors’ efforts. Lee Atwater wasn’t the first to be a shit.

  60. 60.

    danielx

    @Hillary Rettig:

    speaking of Rubio I literally can’t imagine the level of entitlement that would make you see a Senate job as beneath you.

    Your imagination clearly needs some stretching since there are two such individuals in the Republican Klown Kontest, with Cruz being even more of an entitled asshole (emphasis on asshole) than Little Marco. Mind you, I suspect that neither of them will ever have to worry about where their next meals or kids’ college tuition is coming from. Even a (former) senator who has done nothing whatsoever for his or her constituents has opportunities unknown to mere mortals.

    Edit: Of course, one does have to wonder what someone like Larry “Wide Stance” Craig is doing nowadays.

  61. 61.

    HeartlandLiberal

    So my neighbor and I went to the Indiana vs. Iowa basketball game here in Bloomington at Assembly Hall last night. Iowa #4. Indiana now entering end of seasons with remaining games almost ALL against teams in the top 25, a really loaded schedule that is a mountain to climb. IU team has been showing incredible progress past few weeks, but we had no great expectations of anything other than being stomped. And so it seemed after we ran up a 15 point lead halfway through the first half, then sort of went limp, and by early in second half had let Iowa take the lead. By the way, the Iowa comeback was preceded by the most thorough temper tantrum thrown in their huddle I have ever seen by the a coach. I wished I had had my phone camera out and had known to be ready an zoom in to catch it. But bottom line, the Hoosiers just refused to go away, and ground out a final 15 minutes of the second half in which they just refused to go away, and IU won by 7 at the end. As my neighbor said as he got out of the car when we got home: “good friends, good times.” I am retired, and entering a more fixed income period, but I think I will hang on to my season tickets at least one more year.

  63. 63.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @HeartlandLiberal:

    the Iowa comeback was preceded by the most thorough temper tantrum thrown in their huddle I have ever seen by the a coach.

    Really, I find that hard to believe if you’ve followed IU basketball for any length of time. Bobby Knight ring a bell?

  64. 64.

    raven

    @Mustang Bobby: We enjoyed “The Graduate”! They had is listed as being three hours longs and it was only 90 minutes so that helped! The live music was really a great addition.

  68. 68.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I had never had a cavity in my life until the age of 46. Then I had the 2 root canals. He put in temporary caps and said “come back in (whatever) and we’ll fit you for the permanent caps.” Then my life blew up. Never made it back and when the temp caps fell off I could not afford to do anything about it.Lost those 2 teeth and 3 others.

    Life happens.

  70. 70.

    Mustang Bobby

    @MomSense: I had all four wisdom teeth taken out at the same time when I was 48. They strapped me into the chair, plugged an IV with a brain eraser into my arm, and I don’t remember a thing until I was on the table in the recovery room. My partner took me to Walgreen’s, got the scrip for Lortab filled, and went home. I didn’t use them; Tylenol was good enough. The only annoyance was that after a few days the stitches started to hurt, so the doc yanked them. Uneventful recovery.

  71. 71.

    raven

    @Mustang Bobby: I don’t know if you ever heard about it but about 6 years ago a jealous husband/professor killed his wife and two guys at a picnic lunch on a Saturday at the Town and Gown? The actress that played Mrs Robinson was there and I continue to admire the fact that she is able to continue.

  72. 72.

    gvg

    I am all for mocking Republicans, but if his tooth broke, I doubt it was really caused by the twix bar. that would be more like the last straw. Bet on a cavity or something. Teeth that don’t have cavities are very strong. Just imagine how many times we put enormous pressure on them and they don’t break. I had some of mine break on soft foods. Once I felt a piece and didn’t swallow it while eating soup. I apparently have bad teeth genes. My teeth are very thin and small and my childhood dentist warned my parents.
    I am not so sure that Rubio hasn’t messed up his opportunities. I don’t think he will get the Presidency and I am not sure he could actually do some of the usual conservative circuit jobs. He isn’t that bright evidently, has nerves and I think he is somewhat lazy.

  73. 73.

    beltane

    @OzarkHillbilly: My husband has had several teeth in need of a root canal. He got them pulled instead for a very small fraction of the cost. He says he can’t wait for dentures.

    I’ve only had one root canal, done over 20 years ago. It did not hurt at all.

  75. 75.

    hueyplong

    I want Bush’s campaign kept alive because it’s the one spending millions on attack ads against republicans. Not viable. Just alive. For my own political purposes. This way the campaign can’t even die with dignity. If Fox News wants it to pull the plug, I want First to go on air to say that his viewing of one of the ads tells him Bush could still win.

  77. 77.

    raven

    @Mustang Bobby: It was weird, the dude was on the loose in the neighborhood and it was pretty freaky. They didn’t find him for about 4 days when a search dog located him where he dug a little trench and covered himself with leaves and whacked himself. Real life drama in the Classic City.

  78. 78.

    Matt McIrvin

    @MomSense: I’ve had two root canals, and in neither case was there any pain whatsoever during the procedure (the first one stopped a lot of pain). The recovery may involve some aching for a week or so, but for me the big ibuprofen pills were always enough to keep it manageable; I never used the Vicodin prescriptions I got since I didn’t want to be nonfunctional.

    Though with the first one I got, the resulting crown lasted me for about ten years, then the remaining root started to rot out below the gumline and I needed a dental implant, which was a more involved procedure. With the other, they preserved more of the tooth above the gumline and it’s still fine (my dentist casts aspersions on the people who did the first one; dentists seem to do that kind of thing a lot).

  79. 79.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @MomSense: Car accidents can cause lots of issues. J has been in several that caused various types of pain. Are you sure it’s your tooth? The TMJ can get thrown out of alignment, irritate an important nerve, and seem like tooth pain. If you can, try to get your jaw alignment checked. Muscles that are stretched in new ways can seem like tooth pain too.

    See, e.g. this (scroll down).

    :-(

    Best of luck!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  81. 81.

    Matt McIrvin

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    He put in temporary caps and said “come back in (whatever) and we’ll fit you for the permanent caps.” Then my life blew up. Never made it back and when the temp caps fell off I could not afford to do anything about it.Lost those 2 teeth and 3 others.

    Stories like that make me really angry, and there are so many of them. This is what social insurance ought to be for. Paying for simple things that prevent worse problems down the line.

    What I find odd is that even a lot of national health-care systems that pay for most everything don’t pay for dental care. And it seems like this is an area where preventive measures have an outsize effect.

  82. 82.

    Matt McIrvin

    @beltane:

    He got them pulled instead for a very small fraction of the cost. He says he can’t wait for dentures.

    I recall reading something a few years back about how dentists actually see a fair number of patients who demand to have all their teeth pulled out. They just don’t want to deal with them any more.

  83. 83.

    beltane

    @Matt McIrvin: Many private dental insurance plans are next to worthless when it comes to the expensive services. Ours pays for cleanings a year with a discount for everything else, but this still leaves services like root canals with post and crown unaffordable for many.

  84. 84.

    beltane

    @Matt McIrvin: My husband is not at that point yet but one more bad tooth and he probably will be. After spending many thousands of dollars over the years on bridges, crowns, implants, etc., my father ended up going with the denture approach.

  85. 85.

    MattF

    @Matt McIrvin: And it’s even (somewhat) predictable. There’s good teeth on my father’s side of the family and bad teeth on my mother’s side– my sister has never has a cavity and I’ve had multiple root canals and bad gums all my life– and that’s with good dental care and good dental hygiene. Generalize this and you’ve an ideal setup for single payer, universal dental insurance.

  86. 86.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    I never saw a dentist till I was 14. We often didn’t have toothbrushes or paste. My teeth were a disaster, I had 4 molars pulled because they were not salvageable. The work was done for free at my Jr. High, paid for by the school district (they had a dentists office right in the school). Those 3 years in the middle I got a ton of fillings that stabilized my mouth. About 10-12 years later I could afford a dentist & I have not lost a tooth since though I do have to get repairs made regularly as many fillings are old & falling apart. I wonder how much it would cost to have a dentist in every school, particularly elementary schools. I know it would do wonders for improving the health and well being of Americans. But hell we can’t even have an actual nurse any more.

  87. 87.

    beltane

    @Schlemazel (parmesan rancor): The one root canal I had in my early 20s was due to a lack of dental care as a child. Luckily, I’ve never been a soda drinker and must be genetically predisposed to good teeth or it would have been much worse.

  92. 92.

    Marc

    @Baud: U6 is at 10 percent; I don’t see the problem with what Sanders said, or why it’s the equivalent of the make-believe 42 percent by Trump. Excluding people who’ve given up looking for work really does underestimate the total.

  93. 93.

    Baud

    @Marc: The problem identified by Drum is that people are comparing U6 to U3, rather than current U6 to historical average U6.

  94. 94.

    MattF

    @Marc: No problem with it, except lack of context. Kevin Drum notes that the historic full-employment level of U6 is 9%.

  96. 96.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud: Comparing U6 to U3, and comparing labor-force non-participation to U3, and sometimes pulling things entirely out of their asses like that ShadowStats site. And sometimes claiming that they’re undoing a historical stats-reporting change that was actually going from U5 to U3.

    The whole subject drives me nuts.

  97. 97.

    cmorenc

    @MomSense:

    Oh crap, just how bad Is a root canal? I’m about to have one. I should add that opiates make me terribly sick so it’s going to be an Advil only recovery. Maybe I should take a chance on NyQuil .

    The key to coping happily with the procedure itself while in the chair is to insist on getting nitrous oxide. It actually makes getting a root canal strangely enjoyable because the high you get from it is really pleasant and it causes you to dissociate from pain such that to the extent your brain does perceive it, it’s off in such a distant place that it doesn’t affect you. Just be sure to take your iPod and earphones – too many dentists and endodontists seem inclined to play really awful smooth jazz or schmaltzy soft-pop in the background, b/c they are aiming for low-stress music and have really bad taste in what nicely fulfills that goal. It’s a real downer to have a really good nitrous buzz on with KennyG playing in the background.

  98. 98.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Schlemazel (parmesan rancor): I did see a dentist regularly, and brushed daily… but I never flossed, or did anything else, though I’d see PSAs and instructional films and such telling me to do it. I don’t think it was really the social norm at the time and place.

    And I later found out that my dentist was using techniques that were obsolete even for the time (1970s). And I think my teeth are just genetically bad. So I got a million cavities; fillings all over the place, and the really old ones all deteriorated and had to be re-done. Couple of root canals, one that eventually turned into an expensive implant.

    And then when I was out on my own, there were periods when I just fell out of going to the dentist regularly because of laziness.

    It took me until well into the 2000s and pestering from multiple dentists to habituate myself to the fairly intense daily care regime that I actually need to keep my teeth from rotting and my gums from getting diseased (brushing and flossing and interdental brushes and those rubber gum-stimulator things). My teeth are just kind of bad and always have been, but doing all that every day seems to actually do the trick.

    These days, many dentists give kids these sealant coatings and fluoride varnishes that I think are way better at preventing cavities than anything they did back in the Seventies. My daughter’s history has been dramatically better than mine was. Though part of that may be that she inherited her mother’s inhumanly impervious teeth rather than mine.

  99. 99.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    @Matt McIrvin:
    I floss now & it makes a huge difference.
    I loved my dentist (who recently retired & I see his son who is not as good sadly). I had gone to him fo 10-15 years before we moved to FLA. In FLA I found a dentist who was just ok. Then the guy built himself a fancy new office with a huge saltwater fish tank & deluxe everything. The first cleaning I had after that new building was the bloodiest, most painful visit I have ever had. The Dentist came in and said I needed root planing on all for quadrants. Never having heard of that I asked what that was. His exact response: “Don’t worry, your insurance will pay for it.” I ran out of there as fast as I could! I called the good guy in MN and he asked what kind of numbers they were getting & when I told him he said just floss & you won’t have those pocket numbers & it will be fine. I have never had an issue since. Another crook practicing in FLA.

  100. 100.

    bemused

    @MomSense:

    Shouldn’t be a big deal unless you get dry socket which I did. VERY painful but I got prescribed an opioid and only needed to use it once, cleared up quickly.

  101. 101.

    Weaselone

    @Marc:
    With a little creativity you can get to Trump’s number as well. Bernie’s just playing a less extreme version of Trump’s game. Use a different, broader definition of unemployment, compare it to U3 and insinuate that it’s actually the administration that is doing something shady with the numbers.

  103. 103.

    Patricia Kayden

    Jeb!: “Don’t let Trump bully me.”

    So pathetic that even I (who cannot stand Republicans as a whole) am embarrassed for him. He really shouldn’t have run in the first place because his utter humiliation is cringe worthy to behold. Mama Bush needs to put him out of his misery by ordering him to stop running.

  107. 107.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Thank you Gov Snyder: Inside Michigan’s faulty unemployment system that hit thousands with fraud

    In the weeks before Christmas 2014, Kevin Grifka received a letter from the state of Michigan, claiming he fraudulently collected $12,000 in unemployment benefits.
    Grifka, an electrician who lives in metro Detroit, had his entire federal income tax refund garnished by the Michigan unemployment insurance agency (UIA). In the midst of the holiday season, he was faced with repaying a five-figure sum.
    ….
    But Grifka hadn’t actually committed insurance fraud. He was one of thousands of people, many out of work, wrongly charged by an automated unemployment insurance fraud detection system that began in 2013 under Michigan governor Rick Snyder.

    Officials have at least partially conceded the program had problems: last month, the state revealed in a court filing that it quietly scaled back the $47m program, in the wake of intense media scrutiny. Now, all determinations are reviewed and issued by employees, a spokesperson told the Guardian.

    In a just world Rick Snyder would be tarred, feathered, run out of town on a pole and thrown into a cess pool.

  108. 108.

    beltane

    @Betty Cracker: The internals of the NH exit polls already make me think Kelly Ayotte’s seat is a fairly safe Republican hold. I’m still waiting for some signs of life from the DNC.

  109. 109.

    Amir Khalid

    My Republican candidate deathwatch:

    Loose cannon: Trump

    Jackhole: Cruz

    Damp Squibs of the Establishment: Bush Christie Gilmore Graham Jindal Kasich Pataki Perry Rubio Walker

    Kooks and Wowsers: Carson Fiorina Huckabee Paul Santorum

    Only four DSEs still standing — Bush, Gilmore, Kasich, and Rubio. The party establishment finds the Loose Cannon and the Jackhole as toxic as ever. Gilmore’s candidacy remains nothing more than his own hallucination. It has given up on Jeb (don’t tell his ma), and has just been severely let down by the Marcobot. Everyone has forgotten Carson already. It’s my guess that Kasich will soon have a brief turn in the Establishment Candidate spotlight.

  111. 111.

    rikyrah

    Not a shock, but Bobby Jindal left Louisiana in a financial shambles. So much so, that the new Governor is threatening the state university system, warning what’s gonna happen if they don’t come correct with funds.

  112. 112.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @beltane: For the longest time I was certain that Kansas’ Brownback was the worst governor in the country w/ Jindal a close 2nd. Compared to Snyder those 2 were/are pikers

  116. 116.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    he broke a molar on a Twix bar

    1. Ouch
    2. Needs to go to dentist moar. That does not happen with normal teeth.

  118. 118.

    benw

    Somehow, one of these assholes is going to get the Republican nomination and millions of American votes. It’s almost as mind-blowing as gravitational waves.

  121. 121.

    Technocrat

    @Weaselone:

    Unemployment discussions are always frustrating. There’s no objectively right way to measure it, and even the term “unemployment” is implausibly vague. This article argues that some definitions of unemployment are as high as 22% or even 57%. Which is still crap, because wages matter – full employment at an average wage of $8/hour is probably worse than 8% unemployment with an average of $15.

  122. 122.

    maurinsky

    I had a root canal once where they could not numb the nerve. The entire left side of my head was numb, except for the nerve. They had to inject the novacaine directly into the infected nerve. Now, I had two babies without any drugs at all, and this pain was MUCH WORSE (although it only lasted a couple of moments until the novacaine started working).

    I have bad teeth but good gums, which is weird. The dentist said I have soft enamel, but I do brush and floss daily. @Ozark Hillbilly, I had the same experience with the crowns – I honestly don’t even remember whether the dentist told me they were temporary crowns. 3 root canals for nothing, the teeth had to come out. The next two I had, I came back a week later for permanent crowns.

    If I could afford it, I would get implants where I’m missing teeth. They are all molars, so it doesn’t affect my smile, but I would love to have a full set of teeth.

    I have massive phobia, as a result of these and childhood dentist experiences.

  123. 123.

    Germy

    Sotomayor said that after she won confirmation, and Elena Kagan followed her, President Obama asked Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “Are you happy with the two sisters I brought you?” Ginsburg replied, “I’m very, very happy. But I’ll be even happier when you give me five more.”

    To a question about whether she had a mantra she used for empowerment, Sotomayor answered that she is not a religious fanatic, but sometimes in her job she says “Oh, my God, help me!” and means it. Sometimes one of her colleagues drives her crazy. If certain colleagues are acrimonious in their minority opinions, she makes allowances, because she knows they’re unhappy that they lost, and they are passionate about their beliefs. She tries to get along with all her colleagues, even the ones she usually disagrees with, because “we’re going to be there for a long time.”

    http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/08/sonia-from-the-bronx

  124. 124.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    Marco is a real head scratcher for me. He’s young. And somehow, by accident, managed to get into the Senate.

    He has the advantage of incumbency. Bet he’d win re-election. If he stayed for a decade he’d be wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. Connections, hookers, blow. Immune from prosecution for damn near anything. And could still run for President.

    Why now? And why toss the Senate seat? I don’t need it to make sense but y’all gotta admit what he’s doing is pretty senseless.

  127. 127.

    A Ghost To Most

    I’m really enjoying watching the evolution of your drawing as you go, Betty. The one of Jebbie, especially. Go Team Cracker!

  128. 128.

    Ramalama

    Maybe someone will take his campaign out behind the barn and put it out of our misery. With a Nerf gun.

    Thank you for this. My morning’s off to a great start as a result.

  130. 130.

    Amir Khalid

    @CONGRATULATIONS!:
    Rubio’s up for reelection this year. But Wikipedia says that per Florida state law, he can’t have two spots on a ballot — i.e. he can’t run for President and US Senator in the same year. He’s young enough to wait for 2020 or even 2024, and maybe he should have.

  135. 135.

    Calouste

    @Amir Khalid: Apparently the filing deadline for the Senate primary in Florida is late April, so Lil’ Marco has enough time to realize that his presidential campaign is dead and go back to his sinecure day job.

  136. 136.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    But Lil’ Marco ain’t going anywhere because he’s got no place else to go. He’s said he’s not running to keep his senate seat and has made it clear he considers the job beneath him. I suppose he could run for governor when ambulatory dildo Rick Scott’s term is up. But I’m not sure how formidable a candidate he’d be since he won the senate seat with less than 50% of the vote in a three-way race and has hardly distinguished himself in that post. Maybe Fox News. He’s Fox News pretty.

    Rubio doesn’t want to work. When Cuba sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us.

  138. 138.

    Applejinx

    @Marc: This. Unemployment figures are in part bullshit for that reason. I’ve been reading that on Balloon Juice for years now, and entirely agree.

    My experience as a small business guy closely tracks how things are doing out there in the real economy and I see no recovery at all. It’s fake, applies only to big corporations, and the unemployment figures are an intentional lie to boost ‘confidence’.

  139. 139.

    D58826

    I guess one of the things that bothers me about Bernie and feel the Bern, is if he wins the nomination he will expect the full resources of the democratic party to back him in the general election. The man is not a democrat.Never has been. He is very proud of his independent label. And there is nothing wrong with that but he has never worked in the Democratic political party process for all of those down ballot candidates (not that the party has been doing such a hot job). Let him run as an independent with all of the resources that the Independent/socialist party has to offer.

  140. 140.

    Applejinx

    @Weaselone: They’re only doing it so Wall Street doesn’t crash. I’m not sure how shady it’s supposed to be when it’s for a pragmatic purpose like that, and it’s sort of working, but the fundamental truth is that it’s still ‘jobless recovery’ which only applies to rich people.

  146. 146.

    DaDorq

    @Mustang Bobby: Funny you should say that, because Rubio reminds me of the slow-witted guy with the goofy smile who did the detailing at the dealership where I once worked. We’d all just pat him on the head as we walked by him and he’d close his eyes, bare his teeth and laugh his loud, porpoise laugh and then go right back to whatever he was was doing. Probably more competent and qualified to be POTUS than Rubio, now that I think about it.

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